respiratory infection meds for cats

[marko]

Hi Everyone,

Nuda is getting a cough...usually late at night and early in the morning. Vut it's happening daily now.

It sounds like a smoker clearing his/her throat....OR when you have phlegm from a cold and you try to bring it up to spit it into a tissue.

She's going to the vet on Friday.... IF it is a URI....are there meds that other cat owners have has success with?

Might it sound like something else?

Many thx!

[RUSTYcat]

.
Hi marko !

I would say it's unusual for this to be happening only at those times.

Is it possible that

• she is coughing throughout the night....but, no one's awake to hear it?
• she is coughing through the day....but, no one is home to hear it?

(this is not one of those "if a tree falls in the forest..." questions )

However, for a moment, let's forget the time frames you've described. The only coughing that cats really do that's not concerning is the coughing that allows for the expulsion of a hairball.

Cats don't cough with upper respiratory infections, as humans do. They will sneeze.

So, a cough in a cat that's not hairball-related is a cause for some concern.

There are coughs/coughing actions that accompany heart issues, for example. Cancer in the lung will cause coughing. An obstruction in the airway...etc.

Vets are pretty good judges in selecting appropriate drugs for URIs, so I wouldn't offer anything there.

There is, of course, the problem of throwing antibiotics at something that's not actually identified ("the owner expects something" syndrome) which is part of the antibiotic resistance issue that's au courant. There's the common issue of throwing an antibiotic at something unknown that is really there, but, the 'something' is a virus which will laugh and waive at the antibiotic.

There is a growing problem in Canada of Vets prescribing an NSAID, meloxicam (Metacam, Loxicom etc.) for issues for which it is totally inappropriate. This practice is rampant in the UK and is growing here.....Rusty is certain it's aggressive marketing by the manufacturer - probably including a little palm-greasing - and questionable prescribing practices by less-than-scrupulous practitioners. Meloxicam has a very narrow margin of safety in cats as it destroys kidney tissue. I would politely decline it, unless there were a cogent reason for its use.

IF there's a fever and IF it's known to be bacterial, then fine for an a/b.

If you're given an a/b, it would be advisable to also give the cat a probiotic, because the a/b can kill off the gut bacteria and cause diarrhea. Sugarcatmom, who used to be a fixture here, used to recommend a human pro-b, Natural Factors Ultimate Multi. I use that - about 1/3 cap mixed in with a teaspoonful of any wet food they like - dosed at least 2 hours after each a/b dosing.

sheesh.........I thought this would be a quik-n-dirty post

Let us know what happens.
.

[marko]

Wow many thx as always for such good info RC

So Nuda saw the vet and got a full exam.
thankfully the vet was not too concerned. He could hear a wee bit of wheezing through the stethoscope but only on the inhale.

He suggested we should wait a week to see if it gets better. If it gets worse x-rays will be required....and likely anti-biotics.

But the vet was reluctant to prescribe them at this point.

I'll keep ya posted - but maybe this is something that will work itself out.

thx!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Asthma is a cause of coughing it usually starts to appear in cats around 4 years old.
Inhaled environmental allergies can cause coughing. IE: smoke, pollen, scented candles, dust etc
Pneumonia can also cause coughing in cats usually accompanied by lethargy & a fever.

After bringing home Pixi she developed an URI - watery eyes/runny nose/sneezing likely bacterial in nature - was on antibiotics that cleared it up. Shortly after that Lilly started coughing it sounded like she was trying to bring up a hairball with no results. The only time she was coughing was early in the morning & late at night. She also later developed a fever & when I took her to the vet the radiologist diagnosed pneumonia with low grade asthma. The pneumonia was also likely bacterial in origin caught from Pixi, the pneumonia & the coughing was cleared up with antibiotics & an anti inflammatory. Vet mentioned the potential of inhaled environmental allergies as well.

A video of Lilly's coughing was a great tool to show to the vet so they could see/hear what was going on. Since the timing is fairly predictable try to catch an episode on video to show the vet.

[marko]

The vet did mention asthma as something potential to look out for in the future.
For now though,

No lethargy
No fever
still eating like a champ
still playing....

thx for the extra info tho